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Catherine Olguin: Michael Dougherty better qualified

Posted:
04/30/2018 07:48:35 PM MDT

Although not a Boulder County resident, I have been the chief administrator for the Boulder District Attorney's Office, overseeing budget and personnel, for the past 9.5 years — a position I will soon leave to return to the private sector. The Democratic primary race for DA isn't of personal consequence to me, but I do feel an obligation to address some issues raised during the campaign.

It's not only inaccurate to say Mike Foote has 14 years experience as a prosecutor, since he has been half-time for the past six years, and never in a management of supervisory capacity, but also a disservice to the 26 prosecutors assigned to work full-time on the nearly 2,500 felonies and 15,000 misdemeanor, traffic and juvenile cases that are processed annually.

The fracking focus is especially concerning, because a DA doesn't have the legal authority that other agencies do to prosecute environmental crimes, but a district attorney is the only one who can prosecute crimes like homicide, sexual assault and theft, and has limited personnel and budget to do so. The annual budget is less than $90,000 to pay the costs of prosecuting cases, and it's never enough. It's unrealistic to focus on fracking when the office is struggling with a 30 percent increase in felony filings, including crimes of violence and aggravated theft. The DA has to set priorities based on the limitations of budget and staff.

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I've always liked Mike Foote, and didn't know Michael Dougherty before he was appointed, however, if Boulder County wants a DA who actually understands the mission of the office, has years of experience as a prosecutor, is seen statewide as a leader in both criminal justice prosecution and reform, and understands staffing and budget priorities, you should vote for Michael Dougherty.

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